Nader Factor

Building a catapult is perhaps one of the most rewarding things that a hobbyist can ever create. The good thing is that it does not have to be expensive. It only takes a few pieces of wood and some rope and you’re done! Sounds easy doesn’t it?So how to build a catapult that works well?

Of course when you are building a toy catapult then everything is fine but if you are building a large one that can actually hurl a couple of pounds upwards needs more solid and sturdier parts.

Building full size catapults require industrial grade cords and building woods that are specially treated not against wear and tear but against insect infestation.

But going back to how to build a simple catapult, working on a desktop or toy catapult require basic equipment like a few strips of wood for the arm, a heavy base where the catapult can be rooted, and some rope or twine (works best) and a few nails.

The first part is to create the arm which can hold the “bowl” or payload, then the swivel mechanism to hold the arm and let it flex back and forth. Once you have joined the two, then you can attach it to the base via glue or nails – whichever is stronger. All that’s left is to pull the arm back, load it and release.

The flexibility of the wood arm gives the spring power. In case the soft wood is unavailable, you can use any household spring – you determine the softness or hardness of it, and use that as the power for the arm. Lets move further on the topic of how to build a catapult.

Many people have used clothes pins as their power arm and some even use automotive springs to create a stronger throw. But one thing you have to remember is that when you upgrade one part of the catapult, the rest have to match as well. It’s like putting a strong engine in a car that has sub standard parts. The car won’t run well. Same goes for any catapult. If the spring is too strong, it might rip the catapult from its base. So in this case the base has to be more secure or heavier.

Hobbyists sometimes argue on using more metal than wood in their design. That is fine but if you consider the way they catapults were made before, then it would be 95 percent wood and perhaps 5 percent nuts and bolts assembly. What held the machine together was rope and more rope.

So if you are building one and you want to go back to using a traditional feel, then the best is to go wood and rope. If you want to make it last longer and perhaps carry a bigger payload, then more metal is really needed.

The more you know about hot build a simple catapult, the more you might want to use and create more versions like the Trebuchet or Onager. These versions need more practice and more sturdy parts for they really strain each parts with force. You can learn many things other than how to build a catapult for you also learn to build on human friendships.